Pages

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Wine-Braised Beef Pot Roast

When we entertain, we often like to serve a big honking hunk of meat. Preferably something that’s full of flavor, easy to prepare—and can be made ahead of time.

Like pot roast.

Doesn’t sound fancy enough for company? Then just call it braised beef. And cook it with wine, the way the French do. All of a sudden we’re talking gourmet fare (and the perfect complement to a bottle of dry red wine).

Just make sure to prepare a big batch. Because your guests will be begging for seconds.

Recipe: Wine-Braised Beef Pot Roast

Beef makes perfect dinner-party fare. But unlike more highfalutin’ dishes (like standing rib roast), this one won’t break the bank. And when properly prepared, nothing offers more flavor and satisfaction than pot roast.

To make this dish, you first brown the meat, then cook it at the barest simmer in a mix of wine and beef stock. The result is very reminiscent of Boeuf Bourguignon (though for that dish, you cut the meat into small pieces and use more simmering liquid).

When making pot roast, we like to braise the beef in the oven (which provides an even cooking temperature). But you can cook it entirely on the stovetop if you prefer (we provide instructions for both methods). The important thing is to keep the braising liquid at the barest simmer.

BTW, when buying beef for pot roast, we often ask the butcher to tie the meat so it will hold together better while cooking. But this is very optional.

We like to serve sliced pot roast over a bed of mashed potatoes, accompanied by gravy made from the braising liquid. But if mashies aren’t your thing, feel free to substitute.

We learned about wine-braised pot roast from Julia Child. So our recipe is based on hers. She published several different recipes in her various books, but our favorite is the one we found in The Way to Cook.

Prep time for this recipe is at least 30 minutes, with braising time adding another 2½ to 3½ hours (largely unattended). So make this dish on a day when you have some time to spare (you can make it partly ahead of time if you prefer; see the Notes for suggestions).

How many people will this recipe serve? We figure that each pound of meat will satisfy 2 to 3, depending on appetites. So adjust accordingly.

Since our recipe calls for about 4 pounds of beef, you’ll probably have leftovers unless you’re serving a crowd. No worries. Leftover pot roast keeps for a few days if refrigerated in an airtight container. Or you can freeze it.

If you plan to braise the meat in the oven, preheat it to 300 degrees F.

Brown the meat: Place a Dutch oven on medium stovetop heat (use one that’s large enough to hold the meat comfortably, since you’ll also use this cooking pot for braising). Pat the meat dry, then season it with salt. When the Dutch oven is hot, add the oil. When the oil is heated (it’ll shimmer), add the beef to the Dutch oven. Reduce the stovetop heat somewhat, and brown the first side of the beef (this will take 4 or 5 minutes). Then turn the meat and brown another side. Continue until all sides of the beef are browned.

While the meat is browning, peel the onion and chop it into dice (or slices) of about ½ inch. Scrub or peel the carrot, then chop it coarsely into pieces of ½ inch or so. Peel the garlic and chop it coarsely.

Place a skillet on medium stovetop heat. Once the skillet is hot, add a tablespoon of oil. When the oil is heated (it’ll shimmer), add the chopped onion, carrot, and garlic to the skillet. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and sauté for 5 or 6 minutes (until the onion just becomes translucent). Lower the heat if necessary so the garlic doesn’t burn.

When the meat is browned, remove it from the Dutch oven and set it aside. Pour the fat off the Dutch oven, then add a cup of red wine to the cooking pot. Bring the wine a boil, scraping up any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the Dutch oven.

By this time, the vegetables should be cooked. Scrape the cooked vegetables into the Dutch oven. Place the browned beef on top. Add the rest of the red wine and the tomato. Add enough beef stock so that liquid comes about halfway up the side of the meat. Add the thyme and parsley sprigs. Bring the liquid to a simmer on the stovetop. Then place aluminum foil over the beef, crimping the foil down along the sides of the pan just above the braising liquid, and cover the Dutch oven with its lid. Place the Dutch oven in the preheated oven, and set a timer for 45 minutes. (Or if you’re cooking this dish on the stovetop, bring the liquid to the barest simmer, then cover the beef with aluminum foil and place the lid on the Dutch oven.)

At the 45-minute mark, check to see how vigorously the liquid is simmering—you want just the barest simmer. Adjust the heat to control the simmering rate. Flip the beef over, recover with aluminum foil, and set a timer for 1 hour. At the hour mark, flip the beef again, recover with the foil, and cook until done (typically 2½ to 3½ hours total). How do you know it’s done? A metal skewer or sharp fork should pierce the meat without much resistance. If in doubt, cut off a small piece of beef and bite into it. The meat should be fairly tender. (To be on the safe side, you might want to start testing after 2 hours of simmering.)

When the beef is done, remove it from the Dutch oven and set it aside on a plate or carving board for at least 20 minutes (30 or 40 is better). Cover the meat with aluminum foil while it’s resting. Place a strainer over a bowl or a large measuring cup, and pour the braising liquid from the Dutch oven through the strainer into the bowl. Empty the carrots and onions into the strainer, then use a spoon to press the liquid out of them.

Discard the carrot-and-onion mixture (or do as we do, and serve it to the cook as a treat; it’s quite tasty). Measure the amount of braising liquid that you have poured through the strainer—it should amount to 2 or 3 cups. Spoon off any fat that has risen to the surface, then pour the braising liquid into a clean saucepan. If you have more than 3 cups of liquid, bring it to a simmer and then reduce it. Otherwise, just hold the liquid over low heat until ready to serve (you'll be using it as a sauce for the meat). Taste the braising liquid, and adjust the salt and black pepper if necessary.

When you’re ready to serve the beef, you may want to thicken the braising liquid. If so, mix the cornstarch with an equal amount of cold water. Remove the sauce from the heat, then stir in the cornstarch, making a gravy.

Cut the beef into slices ½-inch thick, then serve with the sauce/gravy. We like to serve pot roast over a bed of mashed potatoes.

Notes

If you want to prepare this dish partly in advance, there are two natural stopping points: after Step 5 or after Step 8.

If you want to stop after Step 5: Brown the beef and sauté the vegetables. Then place the beef, vegetables, wine, and other cooked ingredients into a covered container and refrigerate for 24 hours (this will marinate the beef). The next day, continue with the rest of the recipe. BTW, you should turn the beef in the marinating liquid two or three times while it’s in the refrigerator.

If you want to stop after Step 8: After completing this step, allow the beef and braising liquid to cool. Then wrap the meat well and refrigerate it. Place the braising liquid in a covered container and refrigerate it. You can refrigerate the beef and braising liquid for up to 48 hours. When ready to serve, make the gravy (Steps 9 and 10). Slice the cold meat, then warm it in 2 or 3 cups of simmering beef or chicken stock before serving (you’ll discard the stock—it’s being used only to bring the meat to serving temperature).

Warming cold, sliced meat in stock is a trick we learned from the restaurant trade. This method allows restaurant staff to reheat portions as they’re needed, rather than reheating an entire roast. A bonus here is that meat slices better when cold. And it only takes a minute or two to warm the slices in stock.

For this dish, you should use a cut of meat that holds its shape well when sliced. Bottom round is our favorite, although top round works well too. You can also use chuck roast (which actually has better flavor), though it doesn’t always hold its shape as well.

BTW, the meat you use should contain some fat. During the long cooking process, the fat (and some of the meat’s proteins) will break down, which is what tenderizes the meat. Without enough fat, the meat will tend to dry out during cooking.

The crust that forms on the bottom of the pan when you brown meat holds a great deal of flavor. That’s why you deglaze the pan with wine (Step 5)—to capture some of that flavor.

We prefer to make this dish in the oven rather than on the stovetop because the oven provides more even heat. But either method works. The most important thing is to keep the braising liquid just at a simmer—you don’t want it to boil.

In either case, be sure to cover the meat with aluminum foil, crimping the foil down along the sides of the pan, just above the braising liquid. Why? Because meat braises better if there isn’t too much “headroom” (extra space) above it. The aluminum foil cover essentially reduces the size of the Dutch oven so that it exactly fits the size of the pot roast and its braising liquid.

There’s no need to use spendy wine for the braising liquid. We typically use something in the $10 to $12 per bottle range, but even a good jug wine is fine. You want something that is hearty enough to add oomph to the dish. If in doubt, ask your wine merchant—they’ll have a suggestion.

We often use a full bottle of wine in the braising liquid. In that case, we sometimes leave out the beef stock in Step 6 (if the wine provides a sufficient quantity of liquid), and instead add some beef base to the braising wine for extra flavor. Beef base is concentrated beef stock that’s sold as a paste—you can find it in the soup aisle at your grocery store, or online.

You don’t have to thicken the sauce (gravy), but we like to do so. We usually thicken it with cornstarch because that’s quick and easy. If you prefer, however, you could make a roux. If you go that route, you’d probably need 2 tablespoons each of butter and flour for the amount of gravy in this dish.

We use kosher salt for cooking. Kosher salt has big flakes, so it doesn’t fill a measuring spoon as “tightly” as regular table salt. Hence, it’s less salty by volume. If you’re using regular table salt rather than kosher salt, use only about half as much as our recipe calls for. But in any case, when it comes to salt (and pepper), you should always season to your taste, not ours.

Beefeaters

“Vive la France! The French know how to cook,” said Mrs. Kitchen Riffs, biting into her pot roast. “I’ve got no beef with this dish.”

“And pot roast goes so well with mashed spuds,” I said. “This meal is no small potatoes.”

“Yup, these mashies really beef up the feast,” said Mrs K R.

“It’s a lot of food,” I said. “We’ll need to burn some calories after this. Can’t be couch potatoes.”

“Agreed,” said Mrs K R. “In fact, based on the size of your serving, you might need an extra workout, Mr Beefcake. Maybe a ten-mile walk.”

“But I’ll have to nap first,” I said. “Otherwise, I might drop like a sack of potatoes during our hike.”

“OK, nap time first,” said Mrs K R. “Wouldn't want to see you turn into ground beef.”

Dear John,I usually don't eat much beef but this dish looks so good. I love the way you call it braised beef. I remember when I would say we are having pot roast, I would get the ughs! from the family, so now I will say Wine Braised Beef. Awesome recipe, I could just have a dish of this right now..Delish! I would serve mine on mashed potato as well, because then the gravy goes on top of the mashies. Yummy!!! Thanks for sharing...Have a great day and rest of the week...Dottie :)

It looks wonderful and please set a plate for me at the next party. Cooking meat is my weakness in the kitchen funny enough but with a braise in the oven I just might be able to pull this one off. great recipe.

Hi John , you makes me so hungry , I don't mind because you make it so easy . With company in from everywhere , they love beef or any type of food cooked with wine or bourbon . Brought some top round today , boy what a surprise they will get Friday evening dinner . Thanks John , I am pinning . Nee :)

I love serving big, honking hunks of meat for company too! haha! :) Thanks for the great tips on braising with wine. This dish looks delicious and I wish I could taste those potatoes with that gravy right now! Yum

I'd love to come to your place for a meal like this. A roast makes an easy meal to prepare and it's my favorite thing to do in the winter. I've never called it a big, honking hunk of meat but I will from now on!

In the summer we sit outside and I rope someone in to flip steaks on the bbq.

It's been age since I've made a pot roast and I've never cooked one in wine. Yours looks SO GOOD John! The gravy looks so rich and clear I'd love to soak it up with a piece of bread. :) Looks like it's going to be a cold December but dishes like this will make it feel a lot warmer. Thanks for sharing your recipe!

That photo brings me right back to my family dinner table when I was a kid, my mom made a KILLER pot roast, and yours looks like it could give hers a run for its money. I appreciate your detailed notes on this, I have never quite gotten the hang of choosing the right cut of meat for a pot roast, can't wait to give it a try again, thanks John :)

Beef is my absolute favorite and pot roast is great! I had never heard it called pot roast until I met my MIL. Mom had a fit when I called the beef "pot roast." :-) Actually, growing up on a farm, my mother canned beef. It was awesome in mincemeat pies during the holidays. And I love leftover pot roast in a sandwich with mustard smeared over it. This post makes me hungry! You did it up perfectly with the veggies and wine, it sounds really delicious! Now I need to buy a pot roast! Thanks for the recipe, John!

John, this looks delicious! Pot roast was one of my favorite meals of my Mother's. She always called it "Roast Beef" even though it was actually braised. I still love it and cook it fairly often. Your photographs are gorgeous and make me feel a little jealous--my camera is still in the shop. Thanks for another great post, Rocquie

I like pot toast for entertaining too. I typically look for beef chuck weighing 3 to 5 pounds, which comes from the shoulder of the animal. This cut contains a lot of fatty connective tissue which sounds gross, but when cooked properly, becomes deliciously moist and tender. Now I'm hungry. GREG

Hi Greg, I go back and forth between bottom round and chuck roast for this dish. Chuck roast has better flavor,IMO. Bottom round makes much nicer slices, and decent flavor (really quite good with the sauce). Probably the best option is bottom round, and then lard it with fat -- but nobody does that these days! Thanks for the comment.

I'm always reading your posts with a smile on my face, John. You and Mrs. Riffs sure have fun!After being a vegetarian for many years, I started eating red meat last year and I'm loving it. I wasn't a potato lover either until I learned how to cook them properly, lol. Your dish is perfection and I wish I was sitting down to that table right now! Save me some?

Your posts always makes me smile. It would nice to meet you both some day.TO THIS roast, my little one has been asking to learn how to make beef at home, he is so fond of it. I'm overwhelmed a bit because I've never made it, I need to see your recipe and make it for him sometime. This does look simple too.Hope you are enjoying your weekend.xoxo

Hi Asha, it'd ge great to meet you, too! And you owe it to your little one to learn to make this. Once you learn the basic of braising, you really know how to do any kind of braise. It's easy! You'll love it. :-) Thanks for the comment.

You can't go wrong with a Julia Child recipe. And your photos are so mouth-watering you've made me very hungry. When we entertain, we often serve up a big hunk of cow as well and like you say, everyone is soon begging for seconds - I always add a few extras to the numbers when telling the butcher how many we have coming for dinner - just to be sure no one is going to be short-changed xx

Timing is everything, John. Just moments ago, I loaded up the slow-cooker with a pot roast that had spent the night marinating in a little balsamic vinegar and beef stock, with some herbs and spices tossed in for good measure. This was a recipe on the fly, since I couldn't find nor remember my old recipe. If I weren't so far behind with my blogging duties, I would have seen your post and, well, I think it safe to say I would have chosen a different path for tonight's dinner. Time will tell, as it always does, but I'm pinning your recipe for next time. Thanks for sharing another great one!

Hi John, the slow-cooker is such a great way to cook pot roast, isn't it? Really like your use of balsamic vinegar -- perfect for this sort of dish. What time is dinner? We'll stop by! :-) Thanks for the comment.

John, the sauce (I was going to call it 'gravy' but that's not gourmet enough) looks like it's cooked perfectly. You're like me, after cooking the meat in the veggies for several hours, I can't bear to throw them away- I wind up eating them!

Comfort food! I love pot roast or braised beef...and I also prefer the oven method. You can get with something else while it simmers away.This looks fantastic, John.You conversation sure had me giggling :)

I think I got a whiff of the aroma surrounding your pot roast as it braised. I hope so. Pure comfort food - dare I serve it Christmas Eve (35 people and counting - you can see why I don't want to go the tenderloin route). I c'tan have too many pot roast recipes. Will be cooking this.

I really want to make this with my pressure cooker. It's going to be a perfect comfort food when we go home. I never thought of browning in the oven - I should give that a try one day, wonder how it is like after browned... curious. :)

Hi Nami, I've never used a pressure cooker, but it'd be pretty easy to adapt this recipe, I'd think. I usually brown on the stovetop, and braise in the oven, but you can also brown in the oven (under high heat). The browning doesn't add that much flavor to the meat -- but the brown parts that are stuck to the pot have a huge amount of flavor, which is why I add a bit of wine to the pan and scrap them up (Step 5). Thanks for the comment.